Jun 25
Dressed in street clothes after the game, Cincinnati Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. talks to reporters. Two home runs hit by Griffey moved him past Mark McGwire to seventh place in all-time home runs at 584. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Source
Ken Griffey Jr. has been my favorite baseball player since he started with the Mariners in 1989 so the three game series that Seattle played against the Cincinnati Reds was fun to watch as Griffey hadn’t been back to Seattle since he signed to the Reds after the 1999 season. It was quite a thrill to see him batting and taking the filed at Safeco again.
Had Griffey not been injured I think he could have been one of the best players to play baseball. Even now, I think he is right up at the top. Especially when it comes quality of character and growth as a person. From being “The Kid” in Seattle to the 38 year old father of three, he has come a long way and often with a huge smile on his face. And no steroids. Forget you Bonds.
Cincinnati Reds’ Ken Griffey Jr. poses for a photo with his wife Melissa and children as Griffey Jr. is honored Friday, June 22, 2007, at Safeco Field in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Source
The big question now is “how do we get him back to Seattle?” In an interview, Griffey hinted that he wouldn’t mind coming back to Seattle to play. His return was quite emotional; multiple standing ovations, signs of support, and dusted off #24 Griffey Jerseys were seen all around Safeco Field. Griffey hit two homeruns in today’s game which brought on more cheers and standing ovations. How often does an opposing team’s player get such acclaim? Players on both teams said it was an exciting series and great to be a part of.
For today’s Project 365 photo I decided to pull out my box of Griffey cards. My dad and I collected lots of baseball cards in the early and mid-90s and Griffey was, by far, my favorite to collect. I still have every one I have acquired and I imagine I probably will for a long time… even if I sell off the rest of my collection. And yes, that entire box of cards is filled with Ken Griffey Jr. cards, although only five (or so) are from his time with the Reds. If you happen to have any of his cards that you don’t want any more, please feel free to send them my way! 
Griffey has a few more yeas as an outfielder. Right? He is 38 and is slowing down a bit (although he can still make some awesome plays!) so he cannot last there forever. This means he needs to switch to DH because he can still hit like mad. This cannot be done in the NL so he will have to be traded to the AL in a few years… why not the M’s? Seattle would gladly welcome him back! Come on over!
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Posted by Matt Jones @ 12:18 am on June 25, 2007 • Filed under: Sports
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13 Responses to “Griffey is welcome in Seattle any time.”
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Becky Said:
Oh, heck yes. My parents went to the game today. When I was watching the news clips of his interview, I was tearing up… Oh man, I miss Griffey. I actually have one of his rookie cards.
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Matt Jones Said:
Oh wow! they are so lucky Becky!! I soooo wish I could have gone to the game today. The entire series seemed like it was an emotional one for him… even if he wouldn’t admit it, for fear of his son calling him a wuss.
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Matt Jones Said:
Oh and hold on the that rookie card!
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Becky Said:
BTW, I completely agree… He needs to be a mariner again. Heck, he hit two homers today! I think it’s a sign.
Do you know why he wasn’t playing center-field?
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Matt Jones Said:
He has been playing RF for the Reds (usually they have a faster runner in CF… like Ichiro) and was actually supposed to play DH for this series but told his coach he wanted to be in the field for the Seattle fans. And Ichiro said he would be willing to move back to right if Griffey came back.
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Becky Said:
Nice! That is where he belongs but I do admit that he’s not as fast as he once was. I’m glad he got to play in the field though. I probably meant a lot to him being out there… and it’s kinda cool he has that kind of power.
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Matt Jones Said:
Yeah, I definitely agree. I am glad he was there. It wouldn’t have been as cool if he was just in the dugout for the entire series. The fans really treated him well. I think he was somewhat apprehensive before coming because he knew how we treated A-Rod… but they were SOOOO different he had nothing to worry about.
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Becky Said:
Yeah, I never was a big fan of A-rod… and I didn’t think he was all that good looking either.
Griffey is a different story and he was treated well, as he should be. I would bet that he and his wife will be having some chats about moving back to Seattle after how well this series went for him…. which, as you hinted at, probably better than he anticipated. -
Becky Said:
holy cow… those are all Griffey cards! I must have missed that part of the entry
. You are now one of the coolest people I know. You probably have the card I have… it’s a Bowman 1989. -
Matt Jones Said:
Heh, yep, it’s true. I do, indeed, have that card. They had to crazy tall cards, strange.
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Becky Said:
yeah… unfortunately the corners are a little bent on mine
, because it’s tall and wouldn’t fit in the book I had it in. Grr. But I now have it in a protector that covers the whole thing, and other than the corners, it’s in great shape.
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Project 365 - Day 46 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! on 02 Oct 2007 at 7:57 pm Said:
Griffey is coming back to Seattle! | Matt Jones’ Random Acts of Verbiage on 18 Feb 2009 at 11:50 pm Said:
[...] him well. I have a HUGE Griffey baseball card collection that I will probably never let go of. When he played against Seattle last year and was welcomed back with such open arms, he talked about …. I was in full support of him coming back even if it seems like many were against it or thought it [...]